How not to airbrush

The pink, floating Atlanta Flames logo is an interesting touch. I guess if they tried to make the jersey into a Leafs one, it would have looked even more laughable.

Best surprise box so far!

Those $2.00 hockey surprise boxes are addictive. Really addictive. Addictive enough that I made a trip to one especially to pick up a couple. The first contained a couple nice cards, most notably a "Biography of a Season" Tyler Seguin, along with a pack of 08-09 Upper Decks, that had a Rick Nash, Joe Thornton, along with a choice reserve Mikko Koivu. Nice stuff.

The second pack included a bag with 4 hard top loaders. An OK start. There was also a pack containing 4 goalie cards, a pack of 03-04 Victory and a jersey card pack. Even if the latter turns out to be a guy with barely a cup of coffee in the NHL, I've got my money's worth. As a fan of masks and their artwork, I started with the goalies mask. The Bowman Mark Fitzpatrick was a dud, and Niemi's is pretty bland, but the shot of Rinne's is nice:

I went for the Victory pack next. Hey, both Hossa brothers and Olaf Kolzig's Godzilla mask in the same pack? Great!

Now, let's see who the jersey card is. Jock Callander? David Vyborny? Nope.

Hey. It's actually a guy who had a pretty good career in the bigs. His goal ended the longest playoff game since the 1930s, scoring at 92:01 to beat Pittsburgh. That's actually a pretty nice find. One last look through the loot.

Wait a second. That one victory card looks a little different.

Hey! A silver parallel numbered out of 50. Sweet! Do I care that it isn't a superstar? Not one bit. Strangely it came out of the package with a dinged corner, but I really don't mind it that much. It's the first time I've pulled anything numbered out of X out of a dollar store pack.

A good morning to stop in for a quick fix.

Faces Schmaces

While the Tom Kurvers card I posted earlier this month night be an example of how not to create a card with the player's back to the camera, this one might be among the best example of how to do it.

Another beauty courtesy of your friendly neighbourhood dime bin.

At least one good thing to take away from the Mets season

Two if you count NO-han, but that's more of a moment than something for the whole season. Hopefully, we get a card next year with a great photo of the knuckle ball grip.

Night Owl Cards, this one's for you

I probably wouldn't want to put an entirely horizontal set in binders, but with all the great photographs in the set, I always pick them up when I seem them in a repack or do a dime bin search. This beauty was from the annual outdoor game, and I remember they had to move the game to the night because it was too warm to play the game during the day. In January.

Won a contest!

Let's start at the start, as the saying goes. Matthew over at Number 5 Type Collection held a contest to determine which were the most unique monikers among rookies this year, with the prize being cards from your favourite team prior from prior to 1980. I recalled Adeiny Hechavarria of the Blue Jays, specifically how his name is routinely butchered by guest PA announcers during Junior Jays Saturdays. At least that took the title of most mispronounced name away from Edwin Encarnación.

I was among the five winners, and my loot arrived yesterday.

We open with a couple players I hadn't heard of, but at least they earned a mention in the Mets 50th Anniversary yearbook. A Ray Sadecki 1973 card, and a Ted Martinez from 1974.

I love how Ted's name on the back of the card is Teodoro Noel Martinez, and the autograph by the name reflects that. From there, it was a painful card. Although it was before my time, the Fregosi for Ryan trade still bothers me. Although the supposed no-hitter curse did finally die this year.

Now onto a slightly depressing card, although the 1972 version would probably have bothered me more.

When he was inducted in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame this year, Rusty Staub said that one his greatest regrets in baseball was not having the opportunity to play for Hodges. Finally, my favourites of the bunch. You can't go wrong with any Tom Seaver card!

Even better, the 1972 card is an O-Pee-Chee! Vive la Français! Thanks for the great cards and the contest, Matthew!

Most depressing $1 pack imaginable

It really should have been an omen. I elected to grab a pack last night because a really nice Rich Peverly 2011-12 Pinnacle card on the front. On the back, was a Pelle Lindbergh card from the Between the Pipes set. I wasn't really interested in the latter, except to serve as yet another example of why you aren't supposed to drink and drive.

The Pelle card should have set me up for what was coming up in the pack.

Cards for three of the victims of the Lokomotiv plane crash. And all within a span of 15 cards in a repack.
I really have no words to describe the feeling of finding these cards all in the same pack.

And there was also a Bob Probert card in the pack. That's a 33 percent mortality rate on players from the 80s on. There were a couple mid 90s prospect cards for guys that never panned out, and I was too worried to google them thinking they'd up the percentage.

Comprehending mortality sucks.

Good! Fresh nightmare fuel. I was running kinda low

When in doubt, quote Rifftrax.

For those wondering, this was the mascot for the now-in-Saginaw North Bay Centennials of the Ontario Hockey League. According to the card back, this was chosen as the mascot, since the Centennials were named after 100 years of rail in North Bay.

Sleep tightly, kids!

For the Name Hall of Fame

I don't get too upset when I pull a Coach/Manager card from my dollar store grabs. Usually, they are people that played the game at some level, so I can still feel I get some sort of player card. My reaction at seeing this  in among the basketball cards was first along the lines of "What in the Sam Scratch is this?". Then I focus on the fact that the Washington Bullets cheerleaders were called the Bullettes at one point, and that a woman, somewhere in the area of the American capital is named Terri Derryberry, and all is right with the world.

Then I imagine what would be my reaction to a man named Terry Derryberry, and all I could think of is that he could look forward to a career in either children's entertainment or serial killing.

Box breaks - Dollar store style!

Who says one needs to shell out a lot of coin to break a box of cards? I can hit the dollar store and break a box for only $2.00. How? The past little while, I've noticed these showing up in the Dollarama.

I finally elected to take the plunge on one of the hockey surprise boxes today. I will say I was pleased with my finds. Firstly, there was a 100 count package of sleeves. Considering most times I'll pay $2.00 for 100 sleeves anyhow, that's already a great deal. Then there were the cards. There's apparently a random mix of cards in them. I got a pack of 90-91 Pro Set French,  a smaller pack with 4 cards from the 80's, and another one that promised 4 cards with a total book value of $5.00. Let's check some of these out.

I headed off to COMC to check out to see if the book value of the cards was anywhere close to $5.00, and apparently, the Lehtonen card alone lists for $5.00, although it was selling for $2.00. So much for my skepticism there. As for the others, I got a HOFer in Smith, a very likely one in Hasek, a likely one in Thornton and another one with a shot in Lindros. I always liked the mid 80s Blues jerseys, and I'm a sucker for cards of the last unhelmeted players.

That was actually a lot of fun. I've got to do this again.